Nixon announces $1.2M in grants to KC programs
September 18, 2015 | Ashley Jost
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon made an appearance at Techweek Thursday to announce $1.19 million in grants to three Kansas City organizations through the Missouri Technology Corporation.
Of the $1.19 million, $565,000 is going to LaunchKC, $500,000 is going to the Digital Sandbox KC and $125,000 is going to the Independence Economic Development Council. The 2016 Missouri budget signed by Gov. Nixon includes nearly $16 million for programs at the MTC, a public-private partnership promoting entrepreneurship.
The grants are geared primarily toward providing mentors, access to capital, and coworking opportunities.
“Year after year, we continue to see more enterprising Missourians starting and expanding their businesses, creating jobs and growing our economy” Nixon said in a release. “With these new investments to help startups and entrepreneurs launch their businesses, we will continue to ensure that the next big idea in tech innovation happens right here in Missouri.”
Nixon’s announcement came before he introduced Techweek keynote speaker Jim McKelvey, co-founder of LaunchCode and Square. The governor was introduced by Techweek’s CEO Katy Lynch.
“This city has a burgeoning tech scene, and we’re here to highlight the people, initiatives, and the companies that make KC great,” Lynch said in a news release. “Startups and the organizations that enable them are growing at an exciting rate here. It is very impressive to see how supportive state and local government has been in promoting new business growth in the region. It’s no surprise that there’s a strong sense of community and pride throughout the city.”
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Splitting time between student, entrepreneur lives earns Splitsy co-founder top UMKC honor
Recognition as UMKC’s Student Entrepreneur of the Year is a reminder that innovators often begin early, said Brad Starnes, one of Kansas City’s most-talked-about emerging young startup founders. “When I was about 8 years old, I submitted a drawing to an engineering firm,” said the co-founder of Splitsy, a bill splitting app that launched its…
Why this KC esports startup is betting on a gambling app to scale into new NFT, cryptocurrency levels
The Kansas City Pioneers became the first professional esports organization to step into the head-to-head gaming and gambling sphere thanks to its pairing with PLLAY Labs — an AI-based wagering platform. “We see this partnership as a tremendous opportunity to tap into a community of folks who love competition — and then inject the KC…
Can tech save the family farm? E-commerce farmers market plants seeds in Kansas City
An Indianapolis-based startup is planting seeds of change it hopes can enhance the ways growers and producers get their products into the hands of customers. Kansas Citians are harvesting from it in bushels. “This is definitely a business of passion for me,” Nick Carter said, recalling his upbringing and days spent on his family’s farm…
‘Everybody at TripleBlind is better than me,’ founder says as top startup’s global team firewalls groupthink
Startup companies are on a continual mission to create, define and own the category in which they operate within, Riddhiman Das noted, and to do so — startup founders must build a proficient team. “If you’re not the category-defining company, then it’s not as big a win. Categories are typically defined at the global level,…